Saturday, June 2, 2012

My Family Vacation to Arizona- Part 1

I've been away from May 19 through the 27 on vacation with my family. There was 15 of us total that were able to go. My brother-in-law (my eldest sister's husband) wasn't able to go because he was going on a hunting trip and my niece (my eldest sister's eldest daughter...say that 10 times fast) wasn't able to go either because she was on a missions trip to Africa (which is SOO awesome!). We all got on the same flight with just our carry-ons (ps. if you don't travel much, carry-ons is the way to go, just saying.). If you don't have a carry-on make sure you read the carry-on specification on the particular airway you are using. We flew US Airways, so our bags had to be 45 inches (14 x 9 x 22 in). 
All 15 of us waiting to check in!
Arizona here we come!
haahaa! Branson is totally out!
My shout-out for my favorite place IN-N-OUT Burger!!! 
Totally wish there was one on the East coast. 
Our first stop was Sedona.
The landscape was beautiful!
We stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It's a Catholic church on top of a mountain overlooking Sedona. It's really pretty....the view is amazing.
The walkway up to the chapel.
At the top of the chapel.
My honey & me. =)
  This house was right below the chapel. We later found out that this house was once listed at 29 million dollars and it's owner is the inventor of lazik surgery.
This was taken around the time my sister (who will remain nameless) =) stuck her hand in a cactus...by accident, of course.
My eldest sister hanging out of their van window to get video footage. Crazy girl.
 After just a few stops we went straight to the hotel to get settled and eat dinner...
we were spending the whole next day at the Grand Canyon.
Here we are...getting ready to see the sites! =) Grand Canyon National Park
This little guy was hanging of the end of a cliff in the Grand Canyon.
The Colorado River...this is what we would be rafting down the next day!
A lot of the paths had no railings...not very safe for families with small children.
A close up...
This is them from a distance...again, no railings...just a drop-off into the canyon.
A painter's interpretation of the canyon.
Watch out for the elk!! We had the unique opportunity to see a small herd (4 to 5) of elk! 
It was so amazing! They didn't seem bothered by our presence at all!!
The rest of the family looking from a distance.
Jaimee getting with in a couple of arm lengths away from the elk.
My brother's family.
Some people riding donkeys down the canyon....they are crazy.
Sherri Lin & her daughter, Darian.
  My dad got the last wheelchair available! Good thing too...we walked ALL day...my dad would have been exhausted if he would have had to walk all day. Glad he got to do everything with us.
My brother being a little dare devil.
  This was our grumpy bus driver who yelled at us for eating on the bus and asked us if we could read. haahaa! Actually we didn't even notice the sign...we were looking out the windows at the Grand Canyon!!
Brendon being Brendon in one of the gift shops there. =)
Hermit's Rest was designed by Mary Jane Colter in 1914...it was pretty cool.
The walk-in fire place was amazing!
All of us were getting excited to see the annular solar eclipse that evening.
NASA was even there with their giant telescopes!!
An annular solar eclipse happens every 18 years.
All 15 of us crammed into the 12 passenger van so we could drive up to one of the view points to see the eclipse using Dad's handicapped plaque (Dad was in the van, of course). They only allow the Grand Canyon transportation buses, delivery/working trucks, & handicapped vehicles on the roads.
  There was a lot of nerds there with their own giant telescopes so they could see the eclipse. The cool thing is that they let anyone look in it so we could see it too.
This one was my husband's favorite...it took the eclipse's reflection and reflected it onto the container.
To look at the eclipse we had to use these shaded viewers...so we wouldn't damage our eyes while looking at the sun. You were only allowed to look at it for 3 minutes at a time. Branson "taped" (used band aids) the viewer to the camera so he could take his own pictures of the eclipse.
Jaimee looking through one of the many telescopes.
Looking at the eclipse!
Everyone is using their viewers (thanks to Martha, my sister, for buying for everyone!).
These are the pictures that Branson was able to get with our camera. 
They turned our really good!
We took a little walk around the area and my sister, Shirl, snapped this shot of the people just sitting on the edge of the canyon. Crazy nuts!! No way was I getting that close to the edge.
We decided to stay for the sunset. It was really beautiful. We had such a perfect day!


Next post will be about our amazing white water rafting trip!!!! It was SOO cool!!! Stay tuned!


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